


what if you joined the official roselia nfo guild and i parried attacks for you

by Symantra



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure (kinda?), F/F, Friendship/Love, Gaming, Gen, Light-Hearted, NFO, One Shot, roselia (goofball mode), tsugumi hazawa plays an mmorpg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26412460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symantra/pseuds/Symantra
Summary: Tsugumi’s breath caught as Sayo took her hand and got down on one knee. Sayo’s voice was breathy and warm against her knuckles.“Tsugumi-san.”“Y-yes?” she squeaked.A heartbeat passed. Sayo swallowed.“Would you like to join Roselia’s guild in NFO?”
Relationships: Hazawa Tsugumi/Hikawa Sayo
Comments: 9
Kudos: 80
Collections: Free Story Sundays





	what if you joined the official roselia nfo guild and i parried attacks for you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kiyoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyoi/gifts).



Tsugumi’s breath caught as Sayo took her hand and got down on one knee. Sayo’s voice was breathy and warm against her knuckles.

“Tsugumi-san.”

“Y-yes?” she squeaked.

A heartbeat passed. Sayo swallowed.

“Would you like to join Roselia’s guild in NFO?”

Another few heartbeats passed. Tsugumi’s pulse returned to normal after a moment. If she had to guess what her heart rate looked like on a graph at that instant, it probably looked like a question mark.

“W-whaaa?”

* * *

How did a girl get herself into a situation like this?

Tsugumi would have liked to know. Even her most normal conversations could end with her being swept up in something unbelievable.

In this case, she was making a new character in an online game and joining forces with, um, Roselia? They seriously all played this game together? _Roselia_?

Ran would never believe it. She would also probably be mad at Tsugumi for fraternizing with the enemy so often. Which was unfair, because it wasn’t like Tsugumi could help it if she kept accidentally gaining intimacy with Roselia’s members.

Scrolling through the list of classes available to her, Tsugumi racked her head on what to pick. Sayo had told her to go with something she was interested in, as well as to consider the class difficulty based on her experience playing video games. It wouldn’t affect how strong she could become, Sayo had told her; it mainly denoted how complicated the class would be.

Tsugumi had a little bit of experience with video games. Aside from playing Rise of Realms on her phone with the rest of Afterglow, she was an avid player of Grand Blue Fantasy and had over 300 confirmed raid boss kills.

Some of the classes in the list were locked. Stuff like Arcanist, Bushi, Imperial, Charge Blade... Lumberjack? Nekomancer? Some of them were a bit silly.

She thought about it for a bit and decided to go with Ranger. Hitting enemies from afar with a bow seemed cool, and she could always get archery tips from Sayo, right?

Yeah, she knew video games didn’t work like that. But she chuckled anyway.

“Alright, time for the tutorial.” Tsugumi settled into her seat. Around her was the gentle hum of computers and other people using the internet in the net cafe she was visiting.

She had known about net cafes for a while but never needed to go to one herself until today. It was actually quite comfy. Her surroundings, plain but modern, put her at ease. The ambience was relaxing, and probably only got better when it got darker. No wonder Ako, Rinko, and Sayo enjoyed it so much here.

Playing through the tutorial was easy enough. Walk over here and talk to this person, get taken somewhere else and hit some training dummies, leave the village and defeat some woodland creatures.

Tsugumi reached level 4 after a few minutes and was released into the open world—a free ranger. Pleased with her progress, she picked up her phone and texted Sayo to let her know she was done.

_| Tsugu:  
I finished the tutorial!_

A reply came after a minute or so.

_| Sayo:  
That’s good. Are you enjoying the game so far?_

_| Tsugu:  
Well, nothing’s really happened yet. 😆 But it’s nice!_

As they had planned, she looked around the starting town for the huge tree at the farthest end of it. That was where she was supposed to meet up with Sayo’s new character.

It didn’t take her too long to find it. She went inside the vestibule after admiring the scale of it all for a little bit. There were a couple players around, but none she recognized. The spot Sayo had told her to wait at, by an NPC named Alraune, had no one there.

_| Tsugu:  
Are you at the World Tree place yet?_

_| Sayo:  
Sorry, give me a few minutes. I’m going through the character customization process._

Tsugumi understood what she meant. There were many, many options for changing your hairstyle, facial features, and body type, even down to the finest details like nose height and eyebrow thickness.

She had been torn for a little while herself. How faithful should she be to how she looked in real life? Tsugumi liked the way her hair looked, which was good because that was the very first setting in the list. She also went for the same eyes.

But when it came down to height—or came up to, maybe?—moving that slider just a little bit farther to the right had been oh, so tempting. Let’s just say she had indulged herself.

The same went for the bust size slider. While she hadn’t gone overboard, she wondered if she should have held back a little. It wasn’t like anybody besides herself would notice. It was just a bit.

Anyway, Tsugumi took the time to stretch and familiarize herself with the interface while she waited for Sayo to finish.

“Is that her?” She peered at the screen as an avatar with a tealish ponytail, plated armor, and a katana sheathed across her back ran up to her.

_| Sorry for the wait._

_| No problem! We're both here now!_

After adding each other as friends and forming a party, they headed out. Their first goal was the party dungeon at level 20, the first substantial challenge in the game. It was technically doable with two players, but it was much easier with four.

“ _If Hazawa-san wishes to join Roselia, then she must have both tenacity and competency.”_ Sayo’s phone call with Yukina to tell her Tsugumi was joining the guild resurfaced in Tsugumi’s mind. _“Have her—hm. What’s a challenging tribulation for a new player in NFO, Rinko?”_

“ _M-me? Um... maybe completing the first party dungeon solo?”_

“ _Yes. Have her do that.”_

“ _... A-actually, it’s just as challenging to do it in a party of two, so...”_

“ _I see. Have her do the first party dungeon with you, Sayo.”_

Sayo’s character emoted with a sigh.

_| I apologize for Yukina. She doesn’t even log in normally. She has no real business assigning you tasks in the game._

Tsugumi looked for a button to make her character laugh but couldn’t find it.

_| No worries! Haha_

Sending that message did the trick though. A little joyful effect appeared over her character’s head.

_| It’s kind of funny. I’m an outsider anyway, so I’m glad that’s all she wants me to do to win her approval._

_| You may be right. Anyway, it’s thanks to Shirokane-san that we can work as a pair, so if there’s anything you would like to know about the game or your class, please ask me._

Since they had the same main quests, they followed each other and worked together to complete them. Taking out monsters was easy in a group; having to carry her own arrows was kind of fun, and according to Sayo, she would be able to use different types of arrows later on.

_| Ranger seems like a good choice for you. It’s simple but powerful. As a support class, it can stack debuffs, and as an attacker, it can deal a lot of damage from a safe range._

_| Ooh I see! I like the sound of it. What about Samurai?_

_| I’ve heard it’s one of the most powerful melee classes in the game at higher levels. Some skills with the katana hit multiple times, and parrying enemy attacks is very useful against tough enemies._

_| It sounds advanced. You must be pretty good at this game._

_| Hardly. I’m alright. But thank you for the compliment._

Tsugumi could imagine Sayo’s self-directed frown morphing into a smile at that. Sayo needed to think more highly of herself.

_| So what kind of drawba_

Tsugumi jumped as a roar shook the screen and sent her message early. They had been standing in the field for a while chatting, and the field boss they had just killed for a quest respawned and started attacking her.

“Oops!” She clicked to get away. Sayo started swinging at the boss, which drew its aggro.

_| Heal and attack it_

Sayo sent a simple message and started attacking again. Tsugumi chugged a potion and started attacking, pressing buttons in time with her character’s motions to activate her Ranger skills.

They killed it a second time, though not without taking considerably more damage.

_| Perhaps we should go back to town before we continue talking, to avoid this happening again._

_| Sorry! I’m pretty slow at typing..._

_| It’s fine. Let’s return to town. Also, the drawback of a ranger is their lack of defense._

Tsugumi looked at her health bar, which was already down to 50% again.

_| I figured, aha ha..._

They rested up using a campfire kit and headed back to town, turning on auto-walk so they could chat while they went.

_| If you’re not opposed, we could use a voice chat if you prefer that to typing._

_| Oh, that would be nice! I don’t have a microphone though._

_| We could use our mobile phones if you’d like._

Tsugumi picked up her phone and looked around. Was it even okay to talk in here? Oh yeah—there was a sign saying quiet voices okay.

Her phone vibrated. She jumped and fumbled with the screen.

“H-hi Sayo-san,” she whispered into the phone. Sayo’s voice came back loud and clear.

“Hello. Hopefully you’ll have an easier time talking and playing like this.” Sayo sounded pleased over the phone. Tsugumi nodded, forgetting she couldn’t be seen.

As they continued, they talked about the game in low voices, Sayo explaining things and Tsugumi murmuring to her once in a while. Sayo sounded so excited, like a teenager doing something she loved. Ah, right—she was one. Tsugumi forgot sometimes.

Within the next hour, they had reached level 19 and come to the mouth of the first dungeon. All they needed to enter was a quarter more of the experience bar, and then they would be level 20.

“Are you ready for the dungeon, Hazawa-san?” Sayo asked as they hunted golems behind the entrance of the dungeon.

Tsugumi drew her bow and fired at a monster that was out of Sayo’s range. “Maybe? Is it difficult?”

“More so than the main quest content up to this point, at least. I imagine it’d be challenging with two players, but not overly so this far into the game. Just be sure to use your skills effectively and avoid damage as much as possible.”

“We can only use potions inside dungeons, huh?” Tsugumi looked through her inventory at her 20 Tiny HP Potions.

“Yes. If you need to use them, just use Backstep to distance yourself from any monsters attacking you. The bosses should be focused on me most of the time.”

“Bosses plural?” Tsugumi caught on. Sayo hummed affirmingly.

“There are two in this dungeon.”

Level 20 was accompanied by a golden light and a radiant noise, kind of like what Tsugumi imagined gold would sound like when it gleamed. She and Sayo hit it around the same time.

“Alright. Here we go.” They entered the dungeon together. Tsugumi shivered while the map loaded; she wasn’t cold, but filled with a kind of excited apprehension at what lay ahead.

The dungeon would be their last enterprise today. Tsugumi was almost out of time at the net cafe, after all.

“We can do this!” she whisper shouted at her phone.

* * *

“Do you want to take this side path?” Sayo asked. “It’s optional, but there are some treasure chests if we reach the end of it. It may be a little difficult, as this one has some traps.”

Tsugumi looked at the opening. “Why not? We’ve been doing okay so far.”

“Let’s get to it then. Shall I lead the way?”

* * *

“Say, am I able to parry attacks too?” Tsugumi wondered after watching Sayo deflect an enemy’s strike for the 80th time.

“I’m not sure. Do you have a skill for it? Try pressing the middle mouse button.”

Tsugumi did. Her character didn’t move.

“Hm. I guess I can’t,” she said, dismayed. “Maybe I’ll just play a Samurai instead.”

“I could always make a Ranger so we can switch,” Sayo joked. “That’s a shame though. I’ll look it up later and see if your class gets some sort of parrying ability. You’re always free to make a new character, though.”

“Nah, I still like this one! You’ll just have to do all the parrying in my place.”

* * *

“Serrated Arrow should work fine on the boss,” Sayo told her. They huddled before a campfire in a small, circular room. Vines entangled the unopened double door they had yet to open. “If you want, you can focus on killing adds and just use Serrated Arrow at the boss whenever it’s cooled down.”

“Okay,” Tsugumi affirmed. Once they were rested up, she approached the overgrown door. Her character placed her hands on it and pushed.

The door groaned, the vines retreating away from it as it opened.

* * *

With one final, monstrous groan, the boss collapsed. Its dragon head–shaped arm fell onto the ground, boulder-like cheek pressed into the dirt. The thing’s whole body began vibrating and burst into shreds of blue energy that vanished into thin air.

“We did it!” Tsugumi cheered.

“Yes. Nice work out there. Neither of us died today.”

“That’s a good thing if I’ve ever heard one,” Tsugumi laughed.

With a golden light, they reached level 22. Their loot from the boss included a new bow and a wizard staff that was of no use to either of them. Not even Ako and Rinko needed it. Apparently, they were level 73.

“I should tell Yukina you’ve passed her ‘challenge,’” Sayo said, pausing to type something into her computer. “Everybody is online, so...”

She trailed away. “Oh, they said they want to come meet us.”

“Really?” Tsugumi lifted her eyebrows. All of Roselia knew she was here?

Well, she was joining their guild anyway, so it wasn’t like it was a big deal if they came to see her.

They returned to town using a return scroll given to them by one of the NPCs and went back to the big tree to wait for the others. They stood in the same spot Tsugumi had waited for Sayo.

A few minutes later, Ako and Rinko teleported into the vestibule of the world tree. They had already formed a party with Tsugumi and Sayo so they could chat without having to worry about not using each other’s real names.

_| rinrin they’r HERE!!_

_| They are (_ _ﾟ_ _ο_ _ﾟ人_ _)) Hazawa-san, how was the first dungeon?_

_| Good! I had fun. Sayo-san and I cleared it without dying! :)_

_| That’s good... ᕙ( • ‿ • )ᕗ_

_| Udagawa-san, Shirokane-san, do you know where Minato-san is?_

_| She said she would come?? /ᐠ_ _｡_ _ꞈ_ _｡_ _ᐟ\ she’s online. and in the party._

They waited for a bit. Ako ran around Tsugumi, her demon wings flapping cutely. She and Rinko really did look like they were level 73. Both of them were very, very decked out in accessories and cool outfit pieces.

Ako stopped moving and stood still for a bit. Her avatar did a surprised gasp.

_| guys i checked my friends list, she’s in kaltstein mines right now_

_| Huh? Why (^._.^)_

_| maybe she's lost? is she reading party chat?_

_| Yes I axxbm_

A despaired emote bubble appeared over Rinko’s character. Tsugumi laughed a bit, and she heard Sayo sigh over the phone.

“I apologize, Hazawa-san. Minato-san can be a little...”

“No no, it’s fine. It’s funny, actually. You wouldn’t expect her to goof off so much.”

“It pains me to say it, but what you recognize as goofing off is her genuinely trying.”

Another few minutes later, after Ako and Rinko coached Yukina through how to use teleport stones and explained what a no-teleport zone was—yes, she was currently inside one—Yukina’s character appeared in the vestibule.

_| There we go. Hello Hazawa-san._

_| Hello!_

_| I hear you have cleared the first dungeon. You've proven yourself worthy of joining Roselia. Ako, Rinko, how do I invite her?_

_| uhh you have to be guild leader, sorry yukina-san_

_| Yes... sorry. Since Ako and I are the leader and vice leader, only we can invite her._

_| Okay. Please invite Hazawa-san._

Tsugumi couldn't help but laugh again. “She’s talking as if she means Roselia, the actual band,” she said to Sayo. “Even though that’s it’s just the guild name, you know?”

“Yes... She’s like that.” Tsugumi could practically hear Sayo shaking her head on the other side of the phone.

A moment later, Tsugumi received an invitation and opened it.

You have been invited to a guild.

☬ Roselia

Accept Decline

(30, 29, 28...)

Tsugumi clicked accept, and the guild name and icon popped into existence above the username floating over her head.

_| waaaiii~ welcome to roselia tsugi-chin!!_

_| Yes... You’re officially part of the guild now ╮(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)╭ and the band? haha... just kidding._

_| Why not? She has proven herself worthy._

“Minato-san, you—” Tsugumi heard Sayo start talking, stop, then start typing loudly on her keyboard. She stifled a laugh.

_| Minato-san, you cannot just invite Hazawa-san to the band just because of a video game, please!_

* * *

“And that’s what Ako-chan means when she said I joined Roselia,” Tsugumi finished explaining. Tomoe’s face lit up with an understanding “Ohh.”

Ran rolled her eyes, unamused.

“Oh, okay. So you play games with them now.”

Himari nudged her. “C’mon Ran, don’t be like that. Tsugu can’t help it if she’s popular.”

“Yeah, Ran,” Moca snickered. Ran shot her a glare. “Why don’t you join Roselia too?”

“I would never. I bet they’re a bunch of tryhards,” she snapped. “But like, have fun I guess, Tsugumi. If you wanna hang out with those nerds, all the power to you. Just don’t go and actually join their band, okay?”

Tsugumi could tell there was a grudging sense of acceptance behind Ran’s words. She giggled and decided, because she had all the power in the world right now, that a little mischief was in order.

“They miiight have invited me to join their band too. Yukina-san said I’m welcome to come by the studio when they’re practicing. I may go to see Sayo-san sometime.”

The ice melted from Ran’s face, leaving nothing but pure mortification.

“HELLO THEY **WHAT** —”


End file.
